Sports & 'Idræt'Sport is not just sport in Denmark. Sport is 'idræt,' though 'idræt' is not always sport. Like their Scandinavian neighbours, the Danes hesitate between this Old Scandinavian word and the international term 'sport' when talking about one of the most important phenomena of the modern age. Though the two words are often mixed in everyday language, the difference is not merely cosmetic.
'Idræt' is used as a rule about a large range of body culture activities in which the aim can be well-being, exercise, fun, a sense of community or personal development, and all sports organisations have adopted the term 'idræt'.
'Sport' is seen only as one part of this multiple body culture, a part where the Olympic spirit with its quest for results and achievements prevails, and the mass media use the term sport.
Clubs & AssociationsSimilarly, clubs are not just clubs. Clubs are associations, but associations are not always clubs. To form a club is to join with others in some activity; to form an association - a 'forening' - is furthermore to join in a binding, democratic community that has a number of historical values and cultural connotations.
